A Sad Forest Story
by Mulunia
Summary: This is a one-shot I made for a writing test, and I decided to share this story eith the rest of the world. This takes place just before Ocarina of Time. T to be safe.


A man stood over a small child. The boy looked about 8 years old, and was cowering in a fetal position. His clothes were torn, and bruises could be seen on his body. "Get up!" The man orderd his son. "No, daddy. I don't want to be hurt anymore..." A smack could be heard.

"Do what your father tells you! GET UP!"

"No!"

*smack!* "Do you want to be fed to the monsters? Do you?" *smack!* "ANSWER ME!"

The child was sobbing now. "No daddy, no. Please stop, daddy." With effort, the boy slowly got up. It was clear that his left arm was broken, and many of his minor bones were cracked, including his ribs. The man stood over his tear-ridden son and looked down at him.

"Now, tell me why."

"Why what, daddy?"

*smack!* "I'm the one asking the questions!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, daddy!"

"Why can't you be like normal boys? One that can run and jump and hunt? Why can't you be stronger? If you were, I could send you off for the Triforce! All my land and food to myself! But noo, you had to be a runt! A USELESS RUNT! EATING ALL MY FOOD!" This was untrue, for the boy was unnaturally skinny, especially compared to his rather plump father.

This was too much for the boy. He looked at the man straight in the eyes, something he never accomplished before, and spoke to him in defiance.

"I HATE YOU!" This yell- no, this roar- was filled with years of pent-up emotion. The boy turned around, and ran off into the woods.

"Get back here! Come back so I can TEACH YOU A LESSON!" The boy didn't go back. He didn't even turn around, let alone look behind him. He kept running. His injuries shot pain, his lungs burned, his body screamed for rest, but the boy kept running.

After the sun set, the boy finally stopped to rest. He lay at the foot of a large tree, one that looked old and sad. Finally, after so many years, the boy was free. He cried. He cried of happiness. He cried of pain. Most of all, he cried of loneliness. He so dearly wanted a friend.

After a few minutes of crying, the boy heard somthing. A rustle in a nearby bush. He looked and saw a kid dressed in green emerge from it. "There you are. I was wondering where that crying was coming from." The boy noticed that this kid in green was followed by a ball of light. He hesitated to speak, but in curiosity did so.

"What..." He gingerly pointed at the ball of light. "...Is that?"

"Oh this?" The kid in green laughs. "This is my guardian fairy. Her name is Starra."

"Starra? Her? What's a name? What's a her?"

The kid in green glanced to their fairy. This was a strange boy they were speaking with.

"Um... a name is something that every person calls themselves. It makes us special. A her is a girl, like a he is a guy."

"Wow... I didn't know that everybody was special. I've never met any girls before. I guess that's why I'm not special enough to have a name..."

"You don't have a name...? I guess we'll have to give you one then! I'm Shira, and I'm a girl, just like my fairy!"

The boy smiled. This girl... Shira... yelled, but she was happy, and her smile was so pretty. "Thank you."

"Okay, but first of all, we gotta get you cleaned up! Here," Shira hands the boy a bottle. Within was a fairy. "This kind of fairy heals you."

The boy tried, but couldn't open the bottle. "I'm sorry..."

"Oh, that's okay! I have trouble opening bottles too sometimes." Shira opens it and gives the boy the fairy, which heals him of his wounds. She then sits down next to him and cleans his face with a wet hankerchief. "Now, I'm gonna go get some new clothes for you, and Starra's gonna stay here and take care of you, okay?" She looks at the boy inthe eyes. While her's were deep blue and warm, his were wierd and grey. The boy envied her eyes. Her pretty, pretty eyes. He nodded and watched as she walked away, and fell asleep...

The boy awoke to very pretty singing. Somehow, he knew it was Shira he heard. Her voice was clear and smooth, as if she was a river. Sunlight streamed in through the trees, and the boy noticed the pile of clothes next to him. The clothes were green, like Shira's. After he changed, the boy walked around, looking for her. Suddenly, she fell down and landed in front of him. She was in the trees, and landed on her feet, something the boy never managed to do. "Hiya! Wow, you look so cute in that outfit! You look just like a Kokiri now!"

"What's a Kokiri?"

"Well, I'm a Kokiri. Every Kokiri get's a guardian fairy to protect them. All of us wear green clothes, too." Shira began walking deeper into the woods, and the boy followed.

"Where are we going?" It felt so good to ask so many questions, and Shira answered them so happily, the boy just had to ask more.

"To Kokiri woods. That's where we all live. You'll get to meet everybody, even the great Deku Tree!"

"The great Deku Tree?"

"Yeah! He takes care of us and stuff! He knows everything!"

"Wow! He must be a really smart tree!" It felt amazing to yell and be exited, to walk with no limits, to be... well, free.

Once they arrived, the boy marvelled at the beautiful forest. There were so many giant trees, he didn't know which one was the great Deku Tree. "Is that one him?" He pointed at a skinny giant tree with a ladder leading to a hole.

"Nope, that's a tree-house! We live in those! Here, I'll show you the great Deku Tree." As Shira walked through Kokiri Forest with the boy, other Kokiri waved and called to her.

"Hey, Shira! Who's that?"

"Hiya, Shira!"

"Sup, Shira!"

Shira smiled to all of them, but frowned when a very grump-looking Kokiri stood in ther way.

"Hey, Mido."

"Who's that?" Mido pointed at the boy. "And why is he wearing Kokiri clothes?"

"He need clothes, Mido! Their not just ours, but everybody's!"

"Hymph! You know how much I hate no-fairy losers!" Mido crossed his arms and glares at the skinny giant tree from before.

"Yeah, well guess what? Link is more manly and heroic than you ever will be, and he doesn't have a fairy!"

"I still don't like him," Mido grumbled.

"Yet Saria does. Now get out of the way before I make you!" Shira gave Mido a very convincing look, and the sour Kokiri shuffled out of the way. The boy officially loved this girl now. She was brave and strong, yet sweet and kind.

"Great Deku Tree! I want to to meet someone!" Shira waved to the hugest tree the boy ever say.

"Oh? And who would this young child be?" Somehow, the huge tree spoke. The boy's mouth dropped. How did that tree- speak?

"He doesn't have a name, great Deku Tree." Shira looked down at her feet. "Or a fairy..."

"Hm..." The great Deku Tee looked at the boy, reeding his past through his eyes, and reading his future through his soul. "This child may be fairyless, but that is no reason to turn him down. Yes, I shall take care of him, and he may befriend the other Kokiri, but he must sleep within the Lost Woods tonight. Then he shall have a home within Kokiri Forest."

Shira bowed in respect. "Thank you great Deku Tree," and led the boy to the Lost Woods. *_Why would the Great Deku Tree want him to sleep in the woods? Maybe it's a test... Oh well!_* The boy was happy to finally have a home, but still had one more thing he wanted. "But... I still don't have a name..." Starra answered this question. "Don't worry! You'll get your new name tomarrow morning! We just gotta think of one for you!" The boy smiled. He didn't want anyone to waste their time to make a stupid name for him. "Okay." Shira stopped at a hollow fallen log. "Through there is the Lost Woods. I'll see you in the morning!" She waved as she went into her own tree-house home. The boy realized fast the day went by, and went into the woods. He easily got lost, but he didn't care. He knew that the great Deku Tree was taking care of him. As he fell asleep, he felt small changes happen...

The boy woke up and stretched. The first thing that he notied was that he felt different, but that's probably because he had a new family. The second thing that he noticed was that he wa surrounded be cute little scarecrows. Each wore a different mask.

"Who are you guys?"

"We're Skull Kids!" One of them answered. He was the tallest of the bunch, and wore a red dragon-like mask. "My name is Flint. The one in the Deku mask is Leif, the one with a holey hat and broken Goron mask is Watson, and the one in the Zora mask is Zero. I'm the leader of our pose, but don't worry- I'm not a bully!" Flint took of the mask and smiled, showing that he was friendly. "We saw you all alone and want to be your friend."

The boy was struck by Flint's caring, but was confused by what he meant. "Like how the Kokiri are gonna be my friends?"

Zero shook his head. "Naw naw, man. We wants youse to join ours pose. Wese would loved to have another Skull Kid among us!" He spoke in an accent that made it hard to understand what he was saying, but the boy realized what he meant. "But... I'm not a Skull Kid... I'm a Hylian..."

Leif chuckled. "Yaw looks till a differint stawy, mate." The boy looked down at himself. Somehow, he looked just like them, except he was still wearing Kokiri clothes. "But... but..."

Watson put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You see, all who get lost in these woods become a Stalfos, but because you're a child, you turned into a Skull Kid. It indeed will take time to adapt, but eventually you will feel at home with us." What Watson said angered the boy. He didn't want to be home here!

"No! I belong with the Kokiri! They're my new family! Starra and Shira and Mido! All of them! The great Deku Tree said so!" He held his head in his hands. "He said so... he said so... Why would he lie to me?" He looks up at Flint, his now-bright eyes filling with tears. Flint looked down. "I don't know. Maybe it was a test? I just want you to be happy. Come on, guys. Let's give him some space." With that, he leaped upward, towards the treetops. The rest followed, except for Leif, who stayed behind just long enough to give him a wooden flute. "Ere, amte! Jist play that 'oll flute an' weel be 'ere lickety-split!"

The boy stormed into Kokiri Forest. Somehow, turning into a Skull Kid made it so he knew his way through the Lost Woods. Shira was waiting by the entrance, and was shocked by the boy's new appearance. "Oh my Din! What happened? Did you get lost? Oh man, I knew the Deku Tree wa doing something fishy!" She looked angrily towards the Deku Tree's grove. "That son of a-"

The boy glared at her. "You KNEW this would happen?"

"What? No, I just-"

"I used to trust you! You were my first friend! I had a crush on you!" He stomps back to the entrance of the Lost Woods. "I should've known that everyone would lie to me. everybody wants to hurt me. Well, not anymore!" He left Kokiri Forest without saying goodbye.

Shira sadly watched the entrance. "He'll come back... he _will_ come back..." Unbeknowest to her, she would stay there for all eternity, if not for Starra. "He's not coming back, Shira. I'm sorry, but he won't. He'll find others of his kind. He'll learn to fit in. He'll be happy."

"I know... but I thought he would make a great friend for Link..." As Shira walked to her treehouse home, she heard the faint sound of a flute.

"His name was going to be... Forrest."

_The End_


End file.
